Demo of live codec improvements from 2003 to 2008

[benwaggoner]

We talk about how implementations matter more than codecs, of course.

I got inspired to see what kind of quality difference we've had in Windows Media from its launch in 2003 to the VC-1 Encoder SDK implementation today.

It's pretty significant!

Here's a llink to some samples, some details about them, and a groovy chart showing how QP levels have changed over that period.

http://on10.net/blogs/benwagg/What-a-difference-a-half-decade-makes-Live-VC-1-today-and-at-launch/

[Dark Shikari]

We talk about how implementations matter more than codecs, of course.Of course, a codec is an implementation ;)

Here's a llink to some samples, some details about them, and a groovy chart showing how QP levels have changed over that period.

http://on10.net/blogs/benwagg/What-a-difference-a-half-decade-makes-Live-VC-1-today-and-at-launch/That chart shows quite clearly the importance of ratecontrol and speedcontrol in realtime encoding.

[benwaggoner]

Of course, a codec is an implementation ;)
Yeah, terminology is insufficient here :). How do we distinguish clearly between, say, H.264 and x264? Standard versus encoder? Codec versus implementation?

That chart shows quite clearly the importance of ratecontrol and speedcontrol in realtime encoding.
Yep. Lots more work per pixel + lookahead ratecontrol is a powerful combo.

[Wilbert]

How do we distinguish clearly between, say, H.264 and x264? Standard versus encoder? Codec versus implementation?
Standard versus implementation/codec.